A groundbreaking ceremony Friday morning kicked off improvements to Interstate 44 through Springfield. The event had to be moved inside due to rain, and the "groundbreaking" involved officials dumping small buckets of dirt into a large pail.
The Missouri Department of Transportation said the project, part of the multi-phase Forward 44 program, is the first construction project making improvements to I-44 with general revenue funds passed by the state general assembly and signed by the Governor Mike Kehoe.
Sara Fields, executive director of Ozarks Transportation Organization, said the improvements will impact a corridor that’s vital to our region.
"Not only are we expanding the highway, but we're replacing, rebuilding pavement that dates back to the 1960s, rebuilding the interchange at 13 and 44," she said, "I mean, this is monumental.
The $70.7 million project will add a third lane of travel in each direction between Highways 13 and 65 and replace three bridges over I-44 at Broadway, Grant and National Avenues. It also includes a pedestrian underpass and trail improvements at Grant Avenue as well as other improvements between Routes 266 and 160.
Missouri Representative Bill Owen said, not only will the project spur economic development, it will also improve safety.
"We live with the issues of accidents on I-44 regularly," he said. "We have friends that have been injured or lost their lives, and we don't want to forget that. And I think that was really the key component that really drove us all together to make this thing happen."
MODOT is currently completing a Forward 44 study to determine what future improvements are needed from the Oklahoma State line to the Franklin County/St. Louis County line.
